The want of a good series of popular handbooks on Irish art has long been
felt, the works of Sir William Wilde, Petrie and others being somewhat
too elaborate for the ordinary student; so we are glad to notice the
appearance, under the auspices of the Committee of Council on Education,
of Miss Margaret Stokes's useful little volume on the early Christian art
of her country. There is, of course, nothing particularly original in
Miss Stokes's book, nor can she be said to be a very attractive or
pleasing writer, but it is unfair to look for originality in primers, and
the charm of the illustrations fully atones for the somewhat heavy and
pedantic character of the style.

This early Christian art of Ireland is full of interest to the artist,
the archaeologist and the historian. In its rudest forms, such as the
little iron hand-bell, the plain stone chalice and the rough wooden
staff, it brings us back to the simplicity of the primitive Christian
Church, while to the period of its highest development we owe the great
masterpieces of Celtic metal-work. The stone chalice is now replaced by
the chalice of silver and gold; the iron bell has its jewel-studded
shrine, and the rough staff its gorgeous casing; rich caskets and
splendid bindings preserve the holy books of the Saints and, instead of
the rudely carved symbol of the early missionaries, we have such
beautiful works of art as the processional cross of Cong Abbey. Beautiful
this cross certainly is with its delicate intricacy of ornamentation, its
grace of proportion and its marvel of mere workmanship, nor is there any
doubt about its history. From the inscriptions on it, which are
corroborated by the annals of Innisfallen and the book of Clonmacnoise,
we learn that it was made for King Turlough O'Connor by a native artist
under the superintendence of Bishop O'Duffy, its primary object being to
enshrine a portion of the true cross that was sent to the king in 1123.
Brought to Cong some years afterwards, probably by the archbishop, who
died there in 1150, it was concealed at the time of the Reformation, but
at the beginning of the present century was still in the possession of
the last abbot, and at his death it was purchased by professor MacCullagh
and presented by him to the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. This
wonderful work is alone well worth a visit to Dublin, but not less lovely
is the chalice of Ardagh, a two-handled silver cup, absolutely classical
in its perfect purity of form, and decorated with gold and amber and
crystal and with varieties of cloisonne and champleve enamel. There is
no mention of this cup, or of the so-called Tara brooch, in ancient Irish
history. All that we know of them is that they were found accidentally,
the former by a boy who was digging potatoes near the old Rath of Ardagh,
the latter by a poor child who picked it up near the seashore. They
both, however, belong probably to the tenth century.

Of all these works, as well as of the bell shrines, book-covers,
sculptured crosses and illuminated designs in manuscripts, excellent
pictures are given in Miss Stokes's handbook. The extremely interesting
Fiachal Phadrig, or shrine of St.